Shawn Driscoll's TBS Blog


Board games, and the like.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

Firefly Online: The Map of the Verse

So I see this video on YouTube, talking about Firefly and The Verse, etc. The graphics looked cool and all. It was showing the map of The Verse in 3D. Looked handy enough. I have one of those printed out and folded all up fancy paper color maps. But the one in the video looked fairly useful. The guy says FREE all of a sudden like. So of course I had to install the thing.

That's when I come to find out that it's only FREE to download and install. To use it though will cost you. So that ended my tale of what I was gonna say about it right quick.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Forbidden Alchemy Replacement Components

I just got a reply email from Fantasy Flight Games saying I'll be receiving a replacement kit in a few weeks for Forbidden Alchemy, the boxed expansion for Mansions of Madness.

The replacement kit will include the following components:

• "Wrong Turn" Mythos card
• "Bone Saw" Starting Item card
• "Sword Cane" Starting Item card
• "Studies on Hysteria" Starting Item card
• "Memory Hole" Side Effect card
• "Return of the Reanimator: Objective 1B" Objective card
• "Fire and Vengeance: Return of the Reanimator III" Event card
• "It’s Him!: Return of the Reanimator IV" Event card
• "Yellow Matter: Objective 1C" Objective card
• "Lost in Time and Space: Objective 1C" Objective card (added Jan. 6)
• Rules of Play/Investigator Guide book (Revised Printing)
• Keeper Guide book (Revised Printing)

I recently found out that my boxed copy of Forbidden Alchemy suffered from misprints. The fix for the game was described on the Fantasy Flight Games web site.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Twilight Imperium 1-page Game Round Sheet

For those new to Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition, here is a 1-page Game Round Sheet that can be used for quick reference during play.

Twilight Imperium Shattered Empire Map Variant 2

For 3 players:
Here we have a three player map variant using system tiles from the Shattered Empire expansion. The map represents three spiral arms of the galaxy. One for each player. These arms are separated by "rifts", making it difficult at times for fleets to traverse the galaxy (see map variant rule below).

Before the players generate this map, the 9 Special System tiles and the 4 Ringed Planet System tiles are removed and returned to the box. They won't be needed for this map variant.

The Mecatol Rex System tile is then placed at the center of the table. From this tile, three radiating spiral rifts are placed face-down (red side up) using the 10 Empty System tiles and 2 Tri-Planet System tiles.

Each of the three players now randomly choose their Home System tile and places it on the map. The remaining 30 system tiles are shuffled and each player is dealt 10 of them. The players take turns placing their system tiles starting with Ring 1 until it is filled and then proceed on to filling Ring 2 until it too is filled and then on to Ring 3 (aka the Rim) of the galaxy map.

Map Variant Rule: Ships may not end their movement on Rift System tiles. Movement through a Rift System tile is allowed though as long as a ship has a movement of 2 or greater. Ships that find themselves in a Rift System are immediately lost and removed from the map. The only exception to this "Rift Rule" is the fact that the Clan of Saar race can end its ship movement on a Rift System tile as long as its Space Dock is also present. Clan of Saar ships that find themselves in a Rift System without their Space Dock are immediately lost and removed from the map. Their Space Docks can reside alone in a Rift System. All players can activate a Rift System for purposes of adjacent Deep Space Cannon PDS fire.

Twilight Imperium Shattered Empire Map Variant 1

For 6 players:
Here we have a six player map variant using system tiles from the Shattered Empire expansion.

Mecatol Rex, the Home Systems, and Rings 1, 2, and 3 of this map are generated as per the Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition Rules of Play (Creating the Galaxy, pg 8) with one difference being that 25 random systems are removed instead of 2.

Once the players generate the normal six player 3-ring galaxay map, 3 additional systems are then dealt to each player. Each player places their 3 systems adjacent to the left, right, and rear of their own home system. These systems form the rim of the galaxy and can be placed anyway they choose as long as any Special Systems are not touching each other.